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Blackberry Trials

Elderberry
Trials
[planted
2010]

Growing Information:
-Soils
-pH
-Mulch
-Fertilizer

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About Elderberries
Elderberries are a deciduous shrub about 5-6' in size. New canes are produced yearly with flowers (and, subsequently fruit) being borne on terminal shoots from the current year's growth. This means that elderberries will flower on the growth that emerges in the spring. These new shoots are produced by a system of large fleshy roots. Some plants may form thickets of shoots while others tend to "stay put".

Elderberries flower in late spring. Cross pollination is not required to produce fruit, but flowers that are cross-pollinated will produce larger fruit--it is beneficial to have two cultivars of elderberry in close proximity. New canes will produce a single cluster of fruit. Two and three year canes will produce the most fruit, with flowers borne on shoots emerging from last year's leaf axils. By year four, the productivity of the cane is reduced, so any canes over three years old are removed during winter pruning.

Fruit ripens August to September. The entire flower (called a corymb) is harvested. One method of haarvesting individual berries is to freeze the entire cluster, pull the frozen berries off, then refreeze them.

Elderberries can be purchased as bare-root plant, potted plants and even rooted or unrooted cuttings. It is important to remember that the less developed transplants will spend the first year developing a root system and will likely not produce a "first year" crop.

Elderberry Trials
Eight planting rows were set aside for elderberry trials. The trial is located on the North side of the irrigation pond and is partially on a steep slope. Nutrients and pH were corrected according to soil tests. For the purpose of the trial planting, rows are 15' apart and plants are spaced 5'apart within ghe row.. Plants were gathered from several sources, including cuttings from the National Clonal Germplasm Repository. The goal was to have 5 of each variety. However, several varieties are represented by fewer than five plants.

Plants are irrigated to 1" per week via trickle irrigation. Fertilizer applied as 19-19-19 due to low soil P levels. Rate of application is 5 ounces per first year plant and 10 ounces per second year plant (Galletta, 1994) as a split application, half at bud break and the remainder 6 weeks later.

Data collected will include size of plant, pounds of fruit, and qualitative ratings provided by field day attendees.

We would like to thank North Central USDA SARE for the grant supporting this project--benefiting growers in the entire region.

Observations
2011
No pruning was requried this winter. Mulch was reapplied. Milorganite and soap bars were used as deer deterrent. Continual and heavy rain made it impossible to apply deer repellent, or use any herbicides. Early fertilizer applications were also likely washed out and may need to be reapplied after assessing growth.

2010
The first year of the trial was dedicated to finding varieties still in stock after the grant startup date (April 1). There was a vast difference in development the first year. Some plants arrived as unrooted cuttings, rooted cuttings, bareroot plants or potted stock. Only the potted plant material produced any fruit the first year. The first year with a margninal harvest will be 2011 with full harvest expected from third year plants the summer of 2012. Deer browsed the leaves off of all of the plants in late fall. Stems were left untouched and this is where the next crop will be carried.

Growing
Planting:
Space about 5' apart in rows 12' apart. Choose spacing that allows equipment travel down the rows without damageing brittle stems (that will produce the following year's crop).

Pruning:
Plants bear on new growth so the first year can will produce a single terminal flower cluster. Second and third year canes produce flowers from each leaf axil. Yield decreases after three years. Therefore, all canes over three years old are removed during winter pruning. Alternatively, the entire plant can be pruned to the ground every few years.

Fertilizer:
Apply 60-80#N/A as a split application. Use the higher rate to increase cane production if needed. This is about 5 ounces of 19-19-19 per shrub.

Irrigation:
Rainfall is monitored from local USDA weather stations and irrigation is used to supplement rainfall to 1" per week via trickle irrigation. One can calculate the delivery rate of trickle irrigation from the manufacturer specifications.

Weed Control:
Elderberries do not tolerate competition very well, so a good weed control program will help production. Herbicides are available for weed control. A thin layer of mulch works well around the plants as well as down the rows.

Pests:
Undoubtedly, deer are the worst pest in the elderberry block. Scent and taste repellents can be used as well as fencing. Milorganite and soap bars seem to be somewhat effective so far. Virus are also common in Sambucus, it is best to remove all wild plants and rouge out any suspicious plants in the block.